Drop links... yes/no ?

[FatFreddy]

I've been considering rose jointed drop links and having studied the fluff about both the Steve Heath and Leven products, was erring towards the SH ones..

Contacted my service guys to enquire and they said that the standard set up couldn't be bettered, as long as everything is as it should be..

Obviously, they stand to earn from parts/labour on anything they fit for me, so they're turning work away giving this advice, which is therefore pretty compelling.

Comments please.....

Edited by FatFreddy on Sunday 15th May 17:18

[scotty_d]

I fitted SH ones they are fine but only changed them as i sheered one of the satndard ones of when removing them. driving wise they feel the same.

[FatFreddy]

thanks Scotty - maybe wait for the originals to show failing then

[lwt]

The rose jointed ones get rid of some squidgy rubber in the anti-roll bar linkage. I changed to SH ones not really expecting any change but noticed more responsive steering within the first 50yds of driving. By this I mean that the car started to change direction more quickly in response to me turning the wheel. No downsides to fitting provided that you take care to follow the instructions to ensure that the rose joints are free to move throughout the full suspension travel.

Ian.

[FatFreddy]

ty Ian - will bear that in mind as mine is almost too responsive as it is - maybe a prob. with tyre pressures or some such, investigating !

[domV8]

lwt said:

No downsides to fitting provided that you take care to follow the instructions to ensure that the rose joints are free to move throughout the full suspension travel.

This is vital - I have just had to get the rose joints replaced on 2 of them after 3 months because they were fitted too tight...

[FatFreddy]

hmmm, interesting to note, as SH often retorts to complaints of rattling etc. that they are as a result of too loose !

[Chris71]

If the standard items are worn you could notice a huge improvement, if not it'll be less dramatic but probably still detectable.

It's worth doing a bit of research. I haven't got round to fitting any myself - I say the above through experience with previous cars - but I seem to remember some people had some pretty strong opinions on which of the two companies was best. I forget which it was, but there seemed to be a consensus that one was significantly better.

[FatFreddy]

I'm guessing the Steve Heath ones.... although I'm not an engineer, it seems commonsense that if eliminating bushes is of benefit, then "one" should eliminate bushes.

I also agree (common sense, not experience) that wrapping the joints in a rubber gaiter (which I believe the alternative does) brings a new set of issues - water trap, requirement for packing in grease which in turn traps grit etc. etc.

The big but is - according to my service guys, all experienced TVR racers - are the rose joints better than the original setup (assuming it's as it should be) ? They say not....

[TV8]

I have just had the Leven ones put on mine and I would say that the car feels better at the front when cornering. Overal, I noticed the difference more than when the springs/shocks were changed.

Watching them being fitted, I understood why some people complain about wear. Changing them is the sort of job I would do myself on the Stag but not on the TVR - mostly as I dont like working under axle stands on the main chassis and because of setting them up. There is scope to set the tension wrongly in my opinion and I am confident that I wouldnt have got it right first time..

[FatFreddy]

my steering is pin sharp as it is...

have you noticed an improvement in handling over an excellent condition original setup or over a worn original setup ?

[V8FROG]

i changed to Sh drop links even though mine were still ok and simply wow.what a difference it makes.go for it.

[Dave 500]

I would stick with the TVR ones TBH.

I have had both on mine and have had a few issues with corrosion with the after market ones. I have snapped one on the Chimaera and one on the Cerbera due to the rose links locking solid.

[Naybr]

I can only say that I found that the SH ones were a huge improvement over the knackered old original ones. At the time I bought mine, there weren't any original ones available anyway as it happens - but as I recall the price difference wasn't that massive.

I'd say go for it.

[FatFreddy]

Naybr said:

the SH ones were a huge improvement over the knackered old original ones.

As my servicing guys said, over knackered originals they would !

I'll wait and see how mine (originals) are, it's going in for a checkup on the 26th

As I said in the OP, my service guys are losing out by advising against, makes you wonder...

[bigdods]

V8FROG said:

i changed to Sh drop links even though mine were still ok and simply wow.what a difference it makes.go for it.

+1 / I had SH items fitted 5 years ago . My old ones were fine but I wanted to see if I could improve the handling. I could see improvement immediately, cornering a bit flatter and body roll more predicatable. Best upgrade I've done and the cheapest.

[TV8]

FatFreddy said:

my steering is pin sharp as it is...

have you noticed an improvement in handling over an excellent condition original setup or over a worn original setup ?

A bit like the original poster, I was told that my car didnt need them. Looking at the difference in what was there, to the new ones, I thought it would be worth it. On my other toy, after a suspension part failure, the whole lot was changed, back and front.

New bits can still break but the old ones, no matter how good they look, are going to have wear and will have hit countless pot holes on our rubbish roads and are going to need changing at some point.

[FatFreddy]

That's useful to know, as steering isn't my gripe, I am indeed looking for a flatter, more predictable ride. It's not too expensive to do. Thinking of nitrons/eibach too, which Is not so inexpensive. That'll just leave brakes to do before we look at achieving factory quoted 500 power somehow. Trouble is, the car will end up owing me £25k+ to achieve all that. Lot of money for a chimaera, sorted or not....

[SILICONEKID340HP]

Why buy expensive drop links when there are loads what fit.I like the front SH drop links but the rears need more cushion ,some of the lads have had the cross brace snap because of this.If you look at the new leven rear drop links they are rose jointed like the SH ones but have rubber to cushion but cost the earth! .All you need is a drop link around 100mm from the bolt to the centre of the two rubbers with threads for adjustment to get it spot on ..Something like this Rose jointed with rubber gaitors ..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-Civic-MB6-1-8VTi-Diese...

[shpub]

Actually the mounting plates were breaking years before I introduced my drop links. The reason is quite simply. The original rods were never designed for the orientation they are in. To cope with the wishbone movement, the rod top mount has to move. That means it tries to twist the mounting plate as it is effectively bolted to the plate. This introduces fatique and the mounting plate breaks. TVR strengthened the mount to stop this breaking. The other solution is to soften the bushes so that the bushes distort and compress instead. This will work but it defeats the point of having the ARB in the first place because while the bush is distorting, there is no correcting forces applied by the ARB. At some point the bush will be fully compressed and the mount will start to twist. Even with the strengthened mount, this can cause the plate to fracture. The situation is made worse because the positional tolerances are horrendous - +/- 15mm is not uncommon.

The bush mount is cheap to make but for it to make the ARB work well, the bushes need to be done up so tight that there is little or no movement. This then effectively is bolting a straight rod to a plate that moves in an arc. It is this that puts the stress on the mounting plate. The solution is to slacken off the bush so that it can move which as I have said before rather defeats the object.